Worker types
Employees
Employees are hired through your own entity or through Plane’s employer of record (EOR). Plane handles payroll, tax withholding, statutory benefits, and employment contracts. Employee onboarding includes the most setup—compensation, pay schedules, withholding forms, and (for EOR workers) employment contracts that go through a review and signature process. There are two sub-categories:- W-2 employees are US-based employees on your own payroll. Plane manages tax withholding, W-2 generation, and compliance with state and federal requirements.
- EOR employees are hired through Plane’s employer of record in countries where you do not have a local entity. Plane handles the local employment relationship, agreements, and statutory obligations.
Contractors
Contractors are independent workers you pay for services. Plane handles payments, agreements, and tax document collection (W-9 or W-8BEN depending on the contractor’s location). Contractor onboarding is lighter than employee onboarding—you set compensation and optionally add them to a recurring pay schedule and agreement, while the contractor provides their personal details, bank account, and tax forms.Vendors
Vendors are businesses you pay for services. Unlike employees and contractors, vendors represent a business entity rather than an individual. Onboarding is streamlined and driven almost entirely by the vendor themselves—they sign up, provide business details, a tax form, and bank account information. There are no admin tasks like setting compensation or start dates.How worker type affects the experience
| Area | Employees | Contractors | Vendors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Full setup: compensation, pay schedule, compliance forms, and potentially employment contracts | Moderate: compensation, optional pay schedule and agreements | Lightweight: vendor self-service only |
| Payments | Automatic via pay schedule | Pay schedule or payment requests | Payment requests |
| Compliance | Withholding forms, I-9 verification (US), employment contracts | Tax forms (W-9/W-8BEN), optional contractor agreements | Tax forms (W-9/W-8BEN) |
| Agreements | Employment agreements (required for EOR) | Optional contractor agreements | Not applicable |
Adding a worker
To add a team member, go to Workers in the sidebar and click Add worker. Provide:- Name and email—used for the invitation and their Plane account
- Worker type—employee, contractor, or vendor
- Country—determines compliance requirements and available options
Finding and filtering workers
The Workers list in the sidebar shows all active workers across your organization. You can:- Search by name or email to find specific workers quickly
- Filter by worker type—show only employees, contractors, or vendors
- Filter by status—see who is onboarding, active, or terminated
- Filter by manager or department—narrow down by reporting structure
- Sort by name—alphabetically by last name (or business name for vendors)
Managing workers after onboarding
Once onboarding is complete, you manage workers through their profile. Common tasks include:- Updating compensation or title—changes take effect on the date you specify or the next payroll cycle
- Changing reporting structure—reassign to a different manager or department
- Updating bank accounts—workers can update their own bank account details
- Viewing payment history—see all past payments from the worker’s profile
- Offboarding—terminate employment and handle final pay
Archiving workers
After a worker has been offboarded, you can archive their profile. Archiving removes them from active lists while preserving all their data—payment history, documents, and agreements remain accessible. For contractors and vendors, archiving also cancels any pending payment requests and removes them from pay schedules. See Offboarding for the full offboarding and archiving process.API access
The Workers API gives you programmatic access to create, list, and retrieve workers. Related resources are available as separate endpoints:- Employments—worker type, status, and dates
- Compensations—salary or rate details
- Roles—job title and responsibilities
- Reportings—manager and department assignments
- Locations—work location details
Can I change a worker's type after they are added?
Can I change a worker's type after they are added?
Worker type (employee, contractor, vendor) is set when you add the person and cannot be changed directly. If you need to change someone from contractor to employee (or vice versa), contact support@plane.com for assistance.
What happens if a worker does not accept their invitation?
What happens if a worker does not accept their invitation?
You can resend the invitation from the worker’s profile at any time. The worker’s onboarding tasks will remain open until they sign up and complete them. Admin tasks can still be completed independently.
Is there a limit to how many workers I can add?
Is there a limit to how many workers I can add?
No. You can add as many workers as your organization needs. Plane scales with your team.
Can I add workers in bulk?
Can I add workers in bulk?
The dashboard supports adding workers one at a time. For bulk operations, use the Workers API to create multiple workers programmatically.